Does Vegetarian Dog Food Provide Enough Protein?

Vegetarian dog food provides a sufficient amount of
protein for the average dog. However, if you have a working dog or a
dog that competes in dog sports, it might not be the right answer for
your pet.

Advantages of a Vegetarian Diet

Dogs are omnivores, so they are capable of surviving on a vegetarian
diet, unlike cats who are carnivores and not set up to consume plant
matter. There is even an example of a border collie who ate a
vegetarian diet of rice, lentils and organic vegetables and lived to be
27 years old. Many people who have their dogs on a vegetarian diet say
they are thriving.

Many types of kibble that people feed dogs are very unhealthy. They
are filled with cheap fillers such as corn, wheat and meat byproducts,
which don't provide dogs with the nutrients they require to live a
healthy life. Since vegetarian kibble is typically only produced by
top-of-the-line companies, the kibble tends to be higher quality, which
can improve the health of your dog.

If you are concerned about your dog receiving proper nutrients,
there are supplements available, such as Vegedog, which provide all the
necessary elements in a pill or powder form.

Disadvantages of Vegetarian Diet

Dogs like meat. In the wild, dogs eat mostly animals, so vegetarian
diet is not natural for them. They do consume plant matter, but usually
from the tissues of their prey, since they usually consume herbivores.
This is a small part of their diet, and they gain most of their
nutrients from muscle and organ tissue.

Switching from a cheap kibble diet will always improve the health of
your dog. However, people who feed a raw meat diet make the same claims
of improved health and reduction in certain types of cancer. Many of
the improved health claims made by those who feed vegetarian could just
be the dog's health improvement once removed from the preservatives and
harmful elements contained in cheap kibble.

Providing the proper amount of nutrients through a vegetarian diet
requires a significant amount of research. Dogs need to receive at
least 18 percent protein, along with a sufficient amount of vitamin D,
calcium, L-carnitine and taurine. There are high-quality kibbles
available that have done most of the research for you, but homemade
diets can be a challenge.

If your dog competes in dog sports, you need a higher amount of
protein to meet all of his energy needs. High protein diets designed
for active dogs include 25 to 27 percent protein, which aren't met by
vegetarian diets.

Dogs are well-known for being able to survive on any type of
diet, including a vegetarian diet. Unless your dog is a canine athlete,
he will do fine on a vegetarian diet if it is properly researched, and
he may even see health improvements.